iNaturalist Walk with Christian Schwarz

Saturday, March 19 
from 9AM to 12PM
at the MCBG Education Center and throughout the Gardens

REGISTER NOW

Become a citizen scientist and learn to observe and study native plants via iNaturalist, an easy-to-use mobile app!

Learn the basics of iNaturalist — What is this tool? How does it interact with the online platform? We'll practice the physical mechanics of using the app in the field, as well as work out the kinks in the upload process once we get back to a WiFi connection in the classroom. Get all your questions answered and get a head start on your journey of observing, documenting, and sharing your encounters with biodiversity!

Remember to download the iNaturalist app on your smartphone (more details below).

THE DETAILS

• There is a $20 registration fee to attend this class, this includes admission to Gardens for the day ($15 – discounted rate for MCBG Members).
• This class is limited to 10 participants. Reservations are required. CLICK HERE to register.
• The class will include indoor instruction and a guided field walk with Christian. Please be prepared for the weather with appropriate layers.
• Materials: Please bring a Smartphone with iNaturalist installed and a user account set up (free). Also come prepared with drinking water, a notebook, pen, and a camera if desired. 
• Masks are required during this hands-on workshop. Please come prepared to wear your mask indoors and please wear it outdoors when social distancing is not possible. 

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Christian Schwarz is a naturalist based in California, the land of milk (caps) and honey (mushrooms). He teaches Natural History of Fungi at UC Santa Cruz, and co-authored "Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast”. He now spends his time photographing, teaching about, collecting, and researching macrofungi. Fungi satisfy his curiosity with their seemingly endless forms; from the grotesque to the bizarre to the sublime. Besides dabbling in mushroom taxonomy, he loves fish, plants, nudibranchs, moths, and dragonflies. He is passionate about community science, especially iNaturalist. He is a Research Associate at the Norris Center for Natural History at UCSC as well as the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden.

USING iNATURALIST

We will keep track of all the observations made at the Gardens that day using the iNaturalist app. This powerful tool allows anyone with an account to help identify and document anything you observe in nature, including birds, bugs, plants, scat, marine life, and more. iNaturalist observations are also helpful to scientists because they document a species in a location and date, and the phenology (blooming, fruiting, larvae, adult, etc.).

• Download iNaturalist to your phone or mobile device and begin to build your profile and observations!
• Click here for some helpful video tutorials to get you started
• Familiarize yourself with iNaturalist and check out all of the observations that the community has made at the Gardens so far — MCBG Community Page
• Follow Christian on iNaturalist for inspiration